Pięćdziesiąt lat po wielkich uroczystościach – Międzyrzecz w kręgu obchodów 1000-lecia Państwa Polskiego i Millenium Chrztu Polski w 1966 roku (w świetle wybranych źródeł)

In 1996, Miedzyrzecz – at the time a town of about 12,000 inhabitants – became the location for the celebrations connected with the 1000th anniversary of the Polish State and simultaneously an important site within the then Zielona Gora voivodeship for the religious commemoration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Poland. In light of the socio-political situation in Poland at that time, the state and church celebrations occurred independently of each other and, to a significant degree, had a competitive character; indeed, on the part of the Communist authorities there was hostility towards to the actions of the catholic Church. However, in both cases the choice of place was decided by the Polish Piast heritage of the town which, in a clear way for both the state and Church authorities, justified Poland’s territorial acquisitions after World War II. Still today there is a considerable material and intangible heritage in the town of these celebrations which – despite their importance transcending Miedzyrzecz – is poorly recognised in the Polish literature. It should also be noted that, fifty years after these events, in 2016 Miedzyrzecz once again became – due to its heritage and significance in the medieval history of Piast Poland – the location of state and religious celebrations on the occasion of the 1050th anniversary of the Christianisation of Poland. This time, the celebrations were held jointly.